Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau, Michael Volle, Ludovic Tézier, Pretty Yende, Rolando Villazón, Federica Lombardi, Nicole Car, Freddie De Tommaso & Juan Diego Flórez Headline Wiener Staatsoper’s 2025-26 Season

The Wiener Staatsoper has announced its 2025-26 season. Here is a look at the operas and recitals for the new season. Premieres Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride” will get a new production by Dirk Schmeding. The cast will be headed by Franz Xaver Schlecht, Margaret Plummer, Slávka Zámečníková, Ivo Stanchev, Monika Bohinec, Pavol Breslik, Michael Laurenz, Peter Kellner, Matthäus Schmidlechner, Ilia Staple, and Alex Ilvakhin. Tomáš Hanus conducts. A second cast will {…}

Jan 16, 2025

Diana Damrau, Jonas Kaufmann, Ludovic Tézier, Elina Garanča & Kate Aldrich Among 2025 ICMA Winners

The International Classical Music Awards has announced the 2025 winners which will be presented at Düsseldorf’s Tonhalle on March 19. For this article, we will only focus on the opera winners. For the complete list of winners click here. The Artist of the Year award was given to Leonardo García Alarcón, while Christoph Ehrenfellner won the composer of the year {…}

Dec 6, 2024

Freddie De Tommaso, Diana Damrau, Florian Sempey & Karine Deshayes Lead New Holiday CD/DVD Releases

Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get to hear and see new holiday albums, a Puccini album, and rarely performed works. Here is a look at what to buy this season. Puccini The celebrated tenor Freddie De Tommaso celebrates Puccini in a new album with {…}

Dec 6, 2024

Wiener Staatsoper to Stream ‘Die Fledermaus’ with Hanna-Elisabeth Müller

The Wiener Staatsoper will celebrate New Year with “Die Fledermaus” on Dec. 31, 2024. The operetta will be streamed on the company’s platform and will feature Otto Schenk’s legendary staging. The Dec. 31 presentation has become an annual tradition with the company sometimes bringing special guests. This year Bertrand de Billy conducts a cast that includes Georg Nigl, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, {…}

Dec 3, 2024

Lisette Oropesa, Asmik Grigorian, Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau, Cecilia Bartoli & Sabine Devieilhe Lead Salzburg Festival’s 2025 Season

The Salzburg Festival has announced its 2025 season. Here is a look at the vocal performances. Opera Bas Wiegers conducts Michael Jarrell’s “Kassandra” with actress Dagmar Manzel and the Ensemble Modern. Performance Date: July 23, 2025 Salvatore Sciarrino’s “Macbeth” will be conducted by Vimbayi Kaziboni. Cody Quattlebaum, Alice Rossi, Leonardo Cortellazzi, Iris van Wijnen, and Davide Giangregorio. Performance Date: July 25, {…}

Oct 2, 2024

Wiener Staatsoper Announces First Livestreams of the Season

The Wiener Staatsoper has announced a slate of Livestreams for October through December. The first stream of the season will be “Fin de Partie” by György Kurtág. Simone Young conducts the cast which includes Georg Nigl, Charles Workman, Hilary Summers, and Philippe Sly. Livestream Date: Oct. 19, 2024 The second stream of the season will be Britten’s “Billy Budd” starring {…}

Dec 22, 2023

Bayerische Staatsoper to Stream ‘Die Fledermaus’ with Diana Damrau

(Credit: W.Hoesl) Arte.TV is set to present the Bayerische Staatsoper’s new production of “Die Fledermaus” on Dec. 31, 2023. The opera will also be streamed on the company’s STAATSOPER.TV and will be in co-production with ZDF. Vladimir Jurowski will conduct the new production by Barrie Kosky, which will ring in the New Year. The cast will include Georg Nigl (Gabriel {…}

Jul 27, 2023

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2023 Review: Così Fan Tutte

Photo: © Monika Rittershaus “Così Fan Tutte” has become the most uncomfortable of the three Mozart-Da Ponte operas. “Le Nozze di Figaro” has secured itself as a revolutionary and anti-establishment opera. “Don Giovanni” is unavoidable and unforgettable. “Così,” on the other hand, struggled to find its public for most of the nineteenth century. Its plot is often seen as both {…}

Mar 9, 2023

Ambur Braid & Anett Fitsch Lead New CD/DVD Releases

This week, audiences are set to discover rarely performed works from the verismo and baroque period. There will be a few world premiere releases. The Island Avie Records releases “The Island” by American soprano Susan Narucki, an album curated and featuring a unique set of art songs. It consists of a collection of songs, chiefly by women, written in the {…}

Dec 27, 2022

Wiener Staatsoper Announces Cast Change for ‘Die Fledermaus’

The Wiener Staatsoper has announced a cast change for its production of “Die Fledermaus.” The company said that for its Dec. 31 and Jan. 6 performance at 11 a.m. Georg Nigl will sing the role of Eisenstein instead of Jörg Schneider. Nigl has performed at the Bolshoi Theatre, Teatro alla Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper and Berlin Staatsoper, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Nederlandse {…}

May 21, 2022

Kent Nagano & Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg Offer Video Micro Concerts Featuring Vocal Performances

With the pandemic came innovation, particularly in using video to present works. Renowned conductor Kent Nagano and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra explored the medium to create Micro concerts—bite-size, half-hour audiovisual performances that take their cue more from pop music visuals than from staid, traditional concert films. The videos are available for viewing for free until October 22, 2022. Five {…}

georg nigl